The IP List Highlights Journalism That’s Worthy of Film Adaptations

Anyone looking for the next great piece of nonfiction intellectual property should look into these articles.

The end of the year means one thing for movie lovers: lists upon lists upon lists. In addition to lists of the best movies and shows of the year (and IndieWire has plenty of those for anyone interested!), there’s The Black List, which collects the most acclaimed unproduced screenplays circulating through Hollywood. And now, the newly-launched IP List aims to serve a similar purpose for journalistic articles that are ripe for film adaptation.

The list, which was compiled by the PopShift (a project of Pathos Labs) and supported by the Nielsen Foundation, consists of 25 longform articles, books, and podcast series published by journalists that seem ripe for film adaptation. Topics range from hard-hitting political journalism and true crime to sports fare and lighthearted human interest stories, providing potential topics for filmmakers of all stripes.

“Some of the most powerful film and television content is adapted from journalistic reporting. But these deals are mostly reserved for large legacy publications,” journalist and IP List founder Christine McLaren said in a statement. “This inequitable distribution of opportunities is not just failing journalism — it’s failing the entertainment industry too. I am honored to launch The IP List 2025 as a first step toward changing that and showing just how much the journalism industry as a whole, in all its richness and diversity, has to offer Hollywood.”

The full 2025 IP List, complete with information about how to contact rights holders for each article, can be found here.